If you're one of those Dodger fans who likes to show up in the second or third inning to avoid the traffic, well, shame on you.  On Saturday night, all the good stuff had already happened by the time you hit your seat. 12 of the 14 runs in LA's 11-3 win over Colorado came in the first, and fortunately for the Blue, they were responsible for ten of them.  Yep, on NFL Draft day, the Dodgers celebrated by hanging a touchdown and a field goal on poor Rockies starter Mark Redman, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 10-2 laugher with admirable speed.  The sort that would make Mel Kiper Jr. gush about their "game breaking burst" if the Dodgers were a college prospect. 

The Blue have now won two in a row, three of four, and actually managed to gain a game on the Diamondbacks, who lost tonight in San Diego.  Baby steps, but signs of sunshine are at least starting to peek through the clouds. 

Click below for the breakdown.

I mean, for cryin' out loud, the mayor of Sikeston, Missouri dedicated the entire month of April to the guy.  You don't do that for AAA talent.  Thus, barely a day after he was sent down to Vegas, he's back in the bigs. Kid's just that good.  "I feel like I played a good game yesterday," he laughed.  "I was 1-2 with three walks."  An .800 OBP?  You don't just waste that in the bushes. 

I jest, of course, because we know that DeWitt was recalled to replace Nomar Garciaparra, who went back on the DL after suffering another injury to his left calf in last night's 8-7 win. So one night at the Sahara later, DeWitt is back in LA.  He didn't even unpack.  How long he'll stick around this time is an open question, but it won't be any shorter than a couple weeks.   In other news, the other guy who left Friday night's game early, Andruw Jones, is good to go and in the lineup tonight.  I present this neither as good news nor bad, but leave it open for you to interpret.  (Seriously, though, assuming the injury doesn't throw off his mechanics- more, at least- it's a good thing he can play.  Jones isn't going to de-slump himself on the bench.)

It had all the trappings of a soul-crushing, spirit sucking defeat, the likes of which build up on a team and clog the competitive arteries.  A tough outing for the starter (five earned, nine hits, six innings for Hiroki Kuroda), a blown save for the closer (Takashi Saito's second of the year), and injuries to two starters (both calf muscle pulls, the first to Andruw Jones, not seen as a long term issue but enough keep him out of the lineup tonight, the second to Nomar Garciaparra, which will likely send him back to the DL).  Instead, though, the Dodgers left the Ravine, albeit late, with an 8-7, 13 inning win that Joe Torre hopes can be like jumper cables to a sputtering battery.

The star of the box score, and the game, was Russell Martin, who reached base in his first six at bats- three singles, a double, and two walks- before driving in Matt Kemp to win the game on a sac fly to right. The game pushed Martin's BA up to .276, and he's reached base in 18 of his last 25 plate appearances.  Martin even had a chance to display his versatility, moving to third base after Garciaparra had to leave the game in the ninth.

Maybe it was simply a matter of fortune smiling on LA.  After all, the winning run reached base on an error by Colorado shortstop Clint Barmes, and Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez was actually worse than Kuroda.  Finally a break or two going the way of the Blue. 

Joe Torre has recently praised the Dodgers, whether after Wednesday's win or Thursday's loss, for the "fight" continually exhibited, spirit he considered a strong sign of positives to come.  And were there ever a game that sparked some "fight" imagery, it would be this 8-7 win over Colorado.  Putting aside the grit required to overcome losing a lead at the top of the ninth and eventually come out on top four innings later, the night featured events that may left bruises literal and metaphorical.  You had pitchers getting the snot beat out them on both sides.  Dodgers getting hurt.  Fans hit by friendly fire (more on that later).  Each team energetically jockeying for position.  It's like an actual rumble took place. 

But the brouhaha dust was finally able to settle after Jack of all trades Russell Martin belted a bases loaded sac fly to right, knocking in Matt Kemp and putting the final touches on a winning box score.  A brutal one, too.  Every position player was used.  Availability for certain players remains a question mark.  The boys were seriously tired.  But like any street fight, the immediate concern is who was left standing.  In this case, it was your L.A. Dodgers.

The breakdown is below.    

And I'm dying to find out, since it was part of a five-team parlay I placed with an online betting service.  Frankly, I was a little surprised to get action on a game involving no actual people, but like often noted, if you're willing to put down some cash, some bookie's willing to make it official.  But more important to most Dodger fans than the "results" of a make believe game would be how Schmidt did.  According to Joe Torre, Schmidt's 70 or so pitches featured a wide variety and went off without any hitch.  Another fantasy land contest will be needed before any formal rehab might take place. Torre was asked what he considered most important for the righty during these sessions.  "Just for him to feel good," nodded the manager.  It makes sense that they'd maintain "walk before running" goals, since loftier dreams have come crashing down during this recovery period.  "In spring training, we all got our hopes up a little because early on, he was throwing the ball really well.  He was using all his pitches.  And then all of a sudden, we had to shut him down." But even with the expectations kept tempered, it's nice to know that Schmidt's recent work hasn't presented any setbacks.   The real test of sorts will come in about 24 hours.  "It's probably more important how he feels tomorrow or the next day," noted Torre.

 

In his column this morning, the LAT's Bill Plaschke revisits a topic that was hot coming out of Spring Training (you know, like, a month ago), that of Clayton Kershaw.  With the Dodgers struggling, seven games behind the Diamondbacks and seemingly in need of more pitching to bolster a flagging offense, Plaschke advocates the promotion of Kershaw to the big club:

"You don't have to use him every five days. You don't have to use him for more than 70 pitches at a time. You can even stick him in the bullpen for a couple of months.

But you need to bring up Clayton Kershaw, and you need to do it now.

"I have to tell you," said General Manager Ned Colletti, "that thought has crossed my mind."

Of course it has.

Has anybody watching the Dodgers not thought about it?"

It's a classic debate about pushing a top prospect, the future of the franchise in a lot of ways, too quickly to satisfy short term needs.  The pros and cons are numerous. So with that, I ask today's QOTD:

Should the Blue promote Kershaw now?  Should they wait until later in the season?  Should they resist the urge entirely?

He's got the blow-the-ball-by-dudes for a strikeout thing down.  It's the keep-runners-from-scoring part where Chad Billingsley still needs some work.  Thursday night at the Ravine, Bills had the relatively unusual line of five earned runs in six innings, giving up six hits while striking out 12 in LA's 6-4 loss to Arizona.  12 of 18 outs, via the K.  But when the ball was put in play, bad things happened.  It's the sort of inconsistency that has plagued the Dodgers all season.  So much inconsistency, in fact, that a lot actually looks familar.  The middle inning meltdown for Billingsley (two runs in on two hits, a walk, and a wild pitch), and an inability to take advantage of offensive opportunities (2-9 with RISP). 

The ejection of Joe Torre and Jeff Kent over a call an inning earlier, when Kent was ruled to have pulled his foot off the second base bag too early trying to turn the DP, a call rarely made?  That was new.  Nice to have some flavor.

Most elements in life contain contradictions on some level.  Tonight's 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks shows how that commonality also applies to sports.  When comparing two often crucial stats between Arizona and L.A., the numbers favored the home team.  Eight Dodger hits to the D-Back's seven.  15 Snakes striking out against the scant trio of Blue whiffs.  Judging by those figures, the scales appear tipped in favor of the Dodgers.  But alas, a game isn't decided by numbers alone.  Except, of course, the run column's, where the visitors managed to flourish through opportunistic and clutch play.  "They were able to put hits together  when they needed to and capitalized on mistake pitches and found a way to score runs," lamented losing pitcher Chad Billingsley.  By contrast, the Dodgers may have thrown together some more impressive stats in certain areas, but failed to make them happen most crucial.  Thus, your box score reflecting a team failing to get much of anything going for more than a game or two.  It's not that the Dodgers aren't fighting, but in keeping with the paradox theme, it feels like as many punches are hitting their own faces.

The breakdown is below. 

Blake of the same last name is not on the Dodgers' current roster.  The rookie third baseman was sent back to Vegas today in favor of righty Cory Wade, who'll be in uni for tonight's game.  The move had nothing to do with DeWitt's play and everything to do with Joe Torre feeling hamstrung by a pitching staff of only 11, especially after last night's game that required four relievers after Derek Lowe's quality outing was shortened by elbow tightness.  "With the need for a pitcher here, we felt we needed to do that," explained the skip.  In discussing the Blue's new hurler, Torre recalled his quality spring training.  More specifically, "how often he throws strikes."  Plus, the guy can eat some innings in relief, a commodity not in abundance right now for the Dodgers.

 

 

Or by now, are we on to 3.0 or 4.0?  Maybe more?  Software metaphors aside, the Dodgers announced today an ambitious, $500 million expansion/renovation of the city's venerable stadium, with the goal of keeping the facility viable for the next fifty years.  (That, by the way, explains why they're calling it the "Next 50 Plan.")  Assuming all the logistical hurdles can be jumped (environmental impact reports, permits, and the like) the goal is to have Dodger Stadium- the second oldest ballpark in the National League (behind Wrigley), and the third oldest in baseball, once the Yankees move into their new park- all tricked with new shopping, eating, and meeting options by 2012.  The goal, says Frank McCourt, is to "(create) a new stadium without tearing down the old."